Soft-tread horseshoe.



No. 68l,4|l. Patented Aug. 27, I90I. C. P. DRYDEN.

SOFT TBEAD HOBSESHOE.

(Application filed Jan. 14, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

CHARLES P. DRYDEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T O GEORGE B. DRYDEN, OF SAME PLACE.

SOFT-TREAD HORSESHOE..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,411, dated August 2'7, 1901.

Application filed January 14, 1901. Serial No. 43,181. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES P. DRYDEN, of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Soft-Tread Horseshoes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a combined metal and rubber horseshoe of that type wherein a three quarter metal shoe, by which is meant a shoe terminating somewhat short of the usual length at the heel, constituting the toe or clip portion, is combined with a soft elastic hub portion or pad, the latter being suitably located and adapted to cushion and elastically support the heel-quarters and frog of the hoof.

The principal objects of my presentinvention are, first, to provide a horseshoe of this general type having the parts so arranged and constructed as to leave the frog of the foot uncovered and in which the elasticpart of the shoe is adapted for and capable of use with metal toe parts of varying sizes, and, second, to provide in connection with the rubber heel or soft-tread membera foundation or backing of a tough tenacious fabric, as a thick heavy grade of canvas or the like, such fabric being coextensive with and united to the surface of the rubber cushion in a substantially integral manner by the process of vulcanization in lieu of the usual purely mechanical methods of uniting the corresponding parts heretofore employed, consisting of stitching or cementing, or both.

To these ends my invention consists of an elastic or cushioned horseshoe having certain novel characteristics of construction and use, all as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a bottom plan View of my improved horseshoe, showing the metallic and elastic parts combined. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3 is a rear edge view of the elastic cushion, illustrating the means whereby I render the same expansible to accommodate metallic toe-pieces of somewhat varying widths; and Fig. 4 illustrates a slightly-modified form of cushion.

In the drawings, A designates as an entirety a horseshoe constructed in accordance with my invention. The shoe comprises, in general, a metallic toe portion B, which may be an ordinary metallic horseshoe, with the heel portion shortened or omitted, a rubber cushion or soft-tread heel portion C, and a base or foundation portion D. The cushion C has a rear or heel part C, of considerable thickness, which is corrugated on its under surface, as shown in Fig.1, and integral therewith are a pair of forwardly-extending arms 0 c, of reduced and gradually-tapering thickness from the rear to the front ends thereof. The said arms 0 c are slightly curved inwardly toward each other and otherwise shaped to conform to and receive on their under sides the rearwardly-extending sides or arms of the metallic toe portion B, the elastic or cushioning material of the heel member C extending the full length of said arms, as

The said arms are furtherprovided with a pair of integral stiffening ribs 0 c on the under faces thereof and ex-' shown in Fig. 2.

tending about half the length thereof along their inner adjacent edges, the purpose of said ribs being to afford increased rigidity to said arms and strengthen their union with the heel part C and also to prevent lateral displacement of the parts B and C.

The upper face of the rear or heel part 0 of the cushion C is hollowed or recessed centrally thereof at its narrowest part from front to rear, as shown at E, Fig. 3. of this construction is to increase the lateral or edgewise flexibility of said part, so that the arms 0 a may be sprung apart or compressed together to a limited extent, so as to adapt the cushion C for use with metallic toe portions B, either somewhat larger or smaller than that which normally fits the cushion in its unexpanded or uncontracted state. This construction thus adapts the cushion member of the shoe for use with at least three sizes of metallic toe members, thereby largely increasing the capacity and utility of the said cushion member.

As hereinabove stated, I provide that face of the soft-tread portio'n C of the shoe which lies next to the hoof of the animal with a backing or foundation portion D of a tough The purpose tenacious fabric, as heavy canvas, this backit is applied.

.sult.

ing being coextensive with the part to which In order to make this backing solid and substantially integral with the body of the cushion, I secure it thereto by the process of vulcanization, whereby the rubber of the cushion enters and fills all the interstices of the fabric and prevents all possibility of the latter ever becoming loose or detached and buckling, bending, or warping apart from the rubber body of the cushion and whereby also the strength, rigidity, and durability of the shoe as a whole are increased.

It will be observed that the central portion of my improved horseshoe as thus constructed is open, thus permitting ventilation and the access of moisture to the hoof of the animal, without which lameness and an unhealthy condition of the hoof are apt to re It is to be particularly noted that the cushion member does not extend around heneath the front or toe-calk portion of the metallic shoe, the latter being secured directly to the hoof without the interposition of anything yielding. This I deem a feature of importance, since it affords the animal an unyielding toe-hold, inducing him to exert his strength when necessary with the same confidence as though unshod, while affording the desired cushioned tread when the foot is placed squarely upon the ground, as in ordinary travel. It will also be observed that the soft-tread portion 0 and the metallic toe portion B are made entirely separable, being united only by the nails inserted in the act or operation of applying the shoe to the hoof of the animal, and the only applying means required being the usual nails, which unite the parts B and O at the same time that they secure the shoe as a whole to the hoof. The rigidity of the union of the parts B and O and the substantially integral and unitary character of the shoe as a Whole are increased by the thick ribs 0' c, which resist any tendency toward lateral or ed gewise displace ment of the cushion O relatively to the metallic toe member B. The fact that the canvas backing D and the rubber cushion C are coextensive, in addition to the fact of their being united by vulcanization, renders practically impossible any separation or relative dislocation of these parts in use.

Where preferred, the thick rear or heel part C of the cushion C may be cut away on the under surface along .the median longitudinal line thereof and beneath the hollowed or recessed portion E thereof, as shown at F in Fig. 4. This construction effects a considerable saving in material by removing a portion of the latter where it is least needed, lightensthe shoe as a whole, and, further, increases the lateral or edgewise flexibility of the cushion, thereby adapting the latter the more readily to several sizes of metallic toe portions.

I claim as my invention 1. As an improved article of manufacture, a soft-tread horseshoe comprising in combination a three-quarter metallic toe member, a rubber heel member comprising a main heel-pad substantially thicker than the threequarter metallic portion and extending transversely between the rear ends of the two arms of the metallic toe portion,integral forwardlyextending tapering arms arranged to underlie the rear portions of the toe member and terminating at their forward ends at points intermediate of the length of said too member, reinforcingribs extending from the main body of the heel-pad forwardly along the inner sides of said underlying arms and inside of the respective ends of the toe member, said heel-pad being made flexible throughout and provided along the median longitudinal line of the shoe in both its upper and lower sides with grooves whereby its thickness is reduced and provided also with a textile-fabric backing or foundation incorporated with the body of the pad, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. As an improved article of manufacture, a soft-tread horseshoe comprising in combination a three-quarter metallic toe member, a rubber heel member comprising a main heel-pad substantially thicker than the threequarter metallic portion and extending transversely between the rear ends of the two arms of the metallic toe portion, integral forwardlyextending tapering arms arranged to underlie the rear portions of the toe member and terminating at their forward ends at points intermediate of the length of said toe member, reinforcing ribs extending from the main body of the heel-pad forwardly along the inner sides of said underlying arms and inside of the respective ends of the toe member, said heel-pad being made flexible throughout and provided along the median longitudinal line of the shoe in its base side with a groove whereby its thickness is reduced and provided also with a textile-fabric backing or foundation incorporated with the body of the pad, as and for the purpose set forth.

CHARLES P. DRYDEN.

Witnesses:

ALBERT H. GRAVES, FREDERICK O. Goonwnv. 

